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The prices of the cryptocurrencies, including that of the world’s largest virtual currency Bitcoin, skyrocketed during the past one year across the globe. Mirroring the sentiment, the transaction of cryptocurrencies in India rose as much as 30 per cent in volumes during the past one year, with Bitcoin, Ripple, Tether and Tron being the favourites.
The prices of Bitcoin (BTC), the most sought-after crytocurrency, soared by about 445 per cent between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, while that of Ethereum (ETH) by 578 per cent, Binance coin 1,074 per cent and Cardano skyrocketed by 2,730 per cent. However, Tether recorded a fall during the period.
“Indians are open to new investment vehicles and follow global trends. Another reason is that the younger generation in India and elsewhere is skeptical of the financial status quo and the financial crisis of 2008 the worst of their childhood memories, they want to explore alternative ways of storing wealth,” Vikram Rangala, Chief Marketing Officer of ZebPay told BusinessLine .
“The crypto industry in India is trying to create a new asset class for investments, and also a new software for various kinds of applications built on blockchain. Bitcoin was under $5,000 and ETH around $100 when the lockdown started and now, since a year of the lockdown, they have gone up by 10 times,” he said.
There is an estimated 10 million cryptocurrency users in India, and that globally would be 100 million.
“In India despite the speculation around banning, the recent view of the Finance Minister has clearly indicated that the Government is open to options. This reassured investors, leading to subsequent rise in volumes, and interest seen in both Bitcoin and ETH as they become part of the alternate investment,” Bitex Founder and Chief Executive Officer Monark Modi said.
In mid-March, Bitcoin, breached $61,000-mark due to an emergence of a friendlier legislative environment across globe, a sentiment that was also mirrored by other popular cryptocurrencies.
“The lockdown boosted crypto adoption in India but we have not just seen the enthusiasm sustaining but rather growing. While India is a nascent market, it has matured very rapidly over the last 12 months. Retail investors are growing increasingly aware of the asset’s potential owing to its deflationary nature and making it a better hedge against market shocks,” CoinDCX Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Sumit Gupta said.
According to industry analysts, the rise of cryptocurrencies is further expected to continue this year too
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